f a mother is rhesus negative and her baby is rhesus positive, and if by some means some of the baby's blood cells enter the mother's circulation...

Question

My boyfriend and I are the same blood group, but our baby is a different blood group.

How is this possible?

Has this caused the rhesus positive and rhesus negative problem that we are now facing?

Answer

The rhesus factor is an antigen carried on the red blood cells of most British people.

Those with the rhesus factor are said to be rhesus positive, those without it are rhesus negative.

If a mother is rhesus negative and her baby is rhesus positive, and if by some means some of the baby's blood cells enter the mother's circulation, her immune system may respond to what it perceives as a foreign protein by producing antibodies that may destroy the baby's red blood cells.

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This can cause a condition known as haemolytic disease of the newborn.

From the information you have sent in it sounds as if you are rhesus negative and your baby is rhesus positive.

If that is the case you and your partner cannot have exactly the same blood group.

Your partner would have to be rhesus positive because it could only be from him that the baby has inherited the rhesus positive antigen.

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When people talk about their blood group they are usually referring to the ABO group system (so in that sense you and your partner may be the same if, say, you are both blood group O, or A or AB etc) but you could still be different with regard to the rhesus factor.

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